LIFE OF GIOVANNI PICO DELLA MIRANDOLA

However, we shall make clear in the following chapter the reason why these seven expositions were undertaken by us, what our purpose was, and what necessity drove us to them. We will also reveal what is entirely new in this work we are striving to produce. In that chapter, he who is to write most perfectly about this matter—that is, the creation of the world—emulating nature itself, will attempt to paint its "Idea" In the Platonic sense, an "Idea" is the perfect, eternal archetype of a thing.. He will then endeavor to prove in the following sections that our prophet referring to Moses did not fall away from that archetype in any respect. Instead, he achieved it in every detail, so that nothing else should be set forward as the ideal for all writers except Moses himself. We can all more easily admire his greatness than estimate it according to its true worth.

Moses as the idea of writing correctly about nature

These works of mine, whatever these early fruits of my youth may be worth, are owed to you, most illustrious Lorenzo Lorenzo "the Magnificent" de' Medici (1449–1492), the ruler of Florence and Pico's patron., either because they are mine and I gave and vowed myself to you long ago, or because you yourself provided the leisure of the Fiesole retreat Fiesole is a hill town overlooking Florence; Lorenzo provided Pico with a villa there to study and write. in which they were born. This leisure was seasoned by the frequent, or rather constant, presence of your friend Angelo Poliziano A famous Renaissance humanist, poet, and scholar who was a close associate of both Lorenzo and Pico.,

Angelo Poliziano

whose pleasant and fertile genius, which previously produced various flowers of literature, now, I believe, promises the solid and mature fruit of philosophy. Furthermore, it is customary that when something festive or joyful happens to those we love or revere, we should not only congratulate them with words, but also favor them with some gift, so to speak, to share in their happiness and testify to the joy of our soul. Therefore, this work of my late-night studies comes to you at an opportune time, when your son Giovanni—at an age when no one before him has done so—has been designated for the highest college of the Christian orders The College of Cardinals. by the Supreme Pontiff Innocent VIII.

Innocent VIII

This was due to Giovanni's own character, which promises all good things, and to your merits and authority, which justly demand this for him. It remains for us to hope that he shows himself worthy of this dignity. He will do so if he takes as his model for life—that is, for prudence and all virtue—the same man he had as father and author of his status. Farewell.

The structure of the three worlds: Plato

Antiquity fashioned three worlds. The highest of all is the ultra-mundane, which theologians call the "angelic" and philosophers call the "intellectual" world. Plato says in the Phaedrus A dialogue by Plato concerning the soul, beauty, and eros. that no one has ever praised this world according to its true dignity. Next to this is the celestial world; the last of all is the sublunary The region below the moon; specifically, the Earth and its atmosphere., this one which we inhabit. This is the world of darkness, while the angelic is the world of light; the heavens are tempered by both light and darkness. Here, the flowing and unstable substance is denoted by waters; there, it is denoted by fire, by the brightness of light and the high altitude of the place.

The Angelic, Celestial, and Sublunary Worlds

The heavens, being intermediate in nature, are therefore called by the Hebrews shamayim original: "asciamaim", as if composed of esh and mayim original: "es et maim"—that is, of fire and water (which we mentioned). Here is the alternation of life and death; there is perpetual life and stable activity; in the heavens, there is stability of life but alternation of activities and locations. This world consists of the decaying substance of bodies; that one of the nature of the divine mind; the heavens consist of a body, but an incorruptible one, and of a mind, but one bound to a body.

The sequence of motion: Moses' Tabernacle

The third is moved by the second; the second is ruled by the first. Furthermore, there are many differences between them which it is not my purpose to recount here, where we are skimming over these matters rather than flooding into them. I should not omit that these three worlds were most evidently represented by Moses in the construction of that admirable Tabernacle of his. For he divided the Tabernacle into three parts, which represent the three worlds we have mentioned. The first part, defended by no roof or covering, was exposed to rains, snows, the sun's heat, and the cold; and this part represents our world—that is, the sublunary world—more evidently...